Mail-case for mounted carriers.



R. c. HANSON. MAIL CASE FOR MOUNTE D CARRIERS.

hm 1 9 1 T 6H 6H m4 113 om E M m m a P APPLICATION FILED JAN-25, 91s.

JIIIIIIIJIIIIIAI; J

THE COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPH co., WASHIIJGTON, D. c

-R. C. HANSON. MAIL CASE'FOR MOUNTED CARRIERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-25. 19 15.

Patented June 6, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2-.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPHJZO WASHINGTON. D. L

REUBEN o. HANSON, or 'toneienaon, CALIFORNIA.

MAIL-CASE FOR MOUNTED CARRIERS.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented J line 6, 1916.

Application filed January 25, 1915. Serial No. 5,335.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, REUBEN C. HANSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Long Beach, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mail-Cases forMounted Carriers, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to mail cases for rural mail carriers particularly,but adapted to use principally by carriers having vehicles fortransporting the mails on long rural routes, and by means of which thedistribution and delivery of the mails may be greatly facilitated.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a carrying case ofconvenient size and form, thoroughly practical'in every particular,economical in structure, and designed to meet every requirement of theservice.

A further object is to provide a carrier capable of receiving and firmlyholding several stacks of mail matter on a common receptacle in suchamanner that pieces of the mail matter from any one of the severalstacks may be removed independently of and without disturbing the piecesof matter in any of the other stacks.

A further object is to provide a carrier which will hold a large orsmall stack of mail matter with equal firmness and which is capable ofaccommodating itself to'the constant diminishing of the size of thestacks of matter thereon as the mail is delivered.

A further object is to provide an easy method of removing the mailmatter from the stacks on the carrier.

A further object is to provide means for insuring the free anduninterruptedmovement of the carrier when it is wholly or partiallyloaded with A further object is to provide means for preventing theremoval of pieces of mail matter from a stack and the disturbance of theremainder of the stack during the removal therefrom of selected piecesof said' matter.

Still further objects may be hereinafter disclosed in the description'of my invention.

the floor partially broken away to show the interior of the base; Fig. 3is a sectional elevation of Fig. l on the line B-.B showing the hood inposition thereon; Fig. at is a side elevation of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is aperspective view of the case; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the hood;Fig. 7 is a view of a modified form of carrier spring; Fig. 8 1s atransverse. section of one of the standards showing a fender in positionthereon; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a modified form of a fender andFig. 10 is a transverse section of one of the standards with themodified form of fender thereon.

Broadly considered, my device comprises a base with a plurality ofrigidly mounted standards thereon, a'vertically movable carrier forholding quantities of mail matter between the standards, operating meansfor the carrier Within the base and a removable hood for covering theentire case when it is raining, the hood being open so as to affordaccess to the case for the distribution of the maihbut so arranged thatthe mail matter is protected from the.weather.

The base is composed of a pair of parallel side members 1 with feet 2formed at each end, a pair of parallel end members 3 secured at rightangles to the members 1, a top or floor 4secured to the upper edges ofboth the end and side members 1 and 3, and a removable metallic bottom 5secured to the lower edges of the members 1 and 3, there being metalplates 6 secured to the outside of the members 1 about flush with theupper edges thereof and held rigidly thereon by means of the screws 7Standards 8, of tubing or solid round rods, are secured rigidly invertical bores in the end members 3 and extend upwardly through and fora convenient distance above the floor 4 where they terminate in and aresecured to the lower sockets 9 of the elbows 10. These standards arearranged in pairs on opposite sides of the base and about far enoughapart as to pairs, that three separate stacks of ordinary letters may beplaced between them. The longitudinally opposite standards of each pairare connected at the top by means of square bars 11 secured-at theirends in the square sockets 12 of the elbows 10 and each of the bars 11has a suitable bearing, located midway of the two opposite sockets 12,in which the reduced ends 13. of .thetransverse shaft 13 are journaled,

Cal

the shoulders formed at the junctions of the ends 13 with the centralportion of the shaft resting against the bars 11 and serving to preventa longitudinal movement of the shaft.

A tube 14 is placed rotatably on the shaft 13 between the bars 11 and aplurality of large rollers 15, three being shown, are placed rotatablyon the tubing 14, and thus a positive rotation of the rollers 15 isinsured for the purpose hereinafter described. On the outside of each ofthe bars 11 a pair of grooved pulleys 16 are revolubly mounted on thestuds 16, the pulleys in each of the pairs being equally spaced from'and on opposite sides of the aXis of the shaft 13.

At one end of the case, as seen at the rear of Fig. 5, I provide a widefender plate 17 which is secured to the floor 4 of the base by means ofscrews 18 through the outwardly bent foot or flange 18, and'the top ofthis fender is inclined outwardly from the bottom and curled or bentover a rod 19 which is secured at the ends 20 to the rear standards 8and the central portion 21 of which passes through the curl 22 in-theupper end of the fender.

Fenders 24 are provided for each of the standards 8, as shown in Figs. 1to 5 inclusive and a modification of this form is shown in Figs. 9 and10. These fenders are preferably of a crescent cross section and arepivotally held on the standards by means of bands 25 of some suitablemetal which eX- tend entirely around the standards and are secured in asuitable manner to the fenders which are preferably of wood or somelight metal. The fenders are held upwardly from the floor 4 of the baseby means of rivets or plugs 26 secured in the standardsbelow the lowerbands, and they may be turned on the standards so that they will occupypositions on the inside of the case between the standards, eye screws 27being secured to the fenders for the purpose of turning them to suchpositions.

A removable form of fender may be desirable in some cases, such a formbeing shown in Fig. 9 in perspective and in Fig. 10

in position on the standards. This modification has one or more springwire hooks 62 secured at the ends'to the body of the fenders and theouter loops 63 are bent around in such a manner that they will fit theperiphery of and firmly grip the standards 8 when forced into positionthereon. Either form of fender may be used as may be found convenientand they serve the purpose of holding the stacks of mail matter out ofcontact with the standards '8 when the matter is being placed on thecarrier 23 and after the carrier is loaded the fenders 24 may be removedfrom the path ofthe carrier by turning them on the standards, thusproviding a clearance between the matter on the carrier and thestandards and insuring a free upward movement of the carrier.

In the compartment 28 formed in the base between the members thereof, Iprovide a pair of oppositely mounted drums 29 on parallel hollow shafts30 which extend lon gitudinally of the base and are ournaled at thereduced ends 31 in the end members 3 of the base, the ends of thebearings being inclosed and the shoulder formed at the junctions of theends 31 of the shafts serving to prevent a longitudinal movementthereof. The drums 29 are secured by means. of the set screws 32 to theshafts 30 and each of these shafts is connected to the inner ends of thesprings 33 by means of short cords or wires 34, the inner ends of thewire'34 being suitably secured in perforations 35 and adapted to windaround the shafts when the springs 33 are placed in tension. The outerends of the springs 33 are secured to eye bolts 36 secured in the sidemembers 1 and the plates 6. of the base, the springs for each of theshafts being se cured at opposite ends of the drums 29 and extendingdiagonally therefrom toward the end members 3 of the base.

Cables 37 are suitably secured to each side 39 of the carrier 23 bymeans of eye screws 38, or otherwise, from which they extend upwardlyover the pulleys 1.6 on the respective sides of the bars 11, and thencepass downwardly through longitudinal slots 39 in the floor 4 of thebase, into the compartment 28 where the lower ends are wound around thedrums 29 and secured thereto. The cables 37 on opposite sides of thecase should be ofabout equal length and secured tothe carrier 23 in sucha manner that the carrier will be balanced evenly between the standardsand as nearly horizontal as pos sible, and the tension of the springs 33serve to hold the carrier normally upward when it is empty and to impartan upward tendency thereto when it is filled with mail matter.

Latches 40 are oppositely mounted on the floor 4 of the base centrallybetween the standards and near the outer sides. The latches are pivotedin bases 41 secured to the floor 4 by means of'the screws 42 and havearms 43 projecting inwardly in the path of and adapted'to be engaged andheld by lugs 44 secured to the sides 39 of the carrier 23. A common andwell known type of latch is shown in the drawings which has an arm 45 inengagement with a spring 46 secured to the floor 4 of the base andserves to hold the latch in the path of the lug 44, so that when thecarrier is forced downward against the tension of the springs 33 to thelevel of the floor 4 the latches will engage the lugs thereon and holdthe carrier down until it has been released by the operator.

A hood or cover 47, made of canvas, oil cloth or other waterproofmaterial is provided for use with my case in wet weather. The hood isopen at the bottom and top and is provided with an overhanging hingedtop 48 either sewed to the rear wall 49 or hinged on the rod 50 whichextends around the entire periphery of the top in a seam 51. An

opening 52 in the top of the hood is covered with a shield ofcelluloidor mica 53, or other transparent substance, and is positioned slightlyforward of the center of the top so that when the 'hood is in positionon the case, the opening will be above the address ends of the mailmatter, and the addresses may be easily read through the opening. Thehinged side of the hood and top, when the former is in the properposition on the case, is at the rear of the fender 17, the mail matterbeing placed in the case from the front or open side but removedtherefrom at the rear.

A form of compression spring to be used in lieu of the springs 33 isshown in Fig. 7, the spring 54 being mounted in a cage 55 between amovable plate 56 secured to the end of the central rod 57 and thestationary end plate 58 of the cage, and the rod 57 being connected withthe shafts 30 by means of the cords 34 secured in the eye 59. The cage55 is held firmly on the side members 1 of the base by means of bolts 69through the inner plates 61 of the cage and the plates 6 of the base andwhen the cables 37 are unwound from the drums 29 the springs will beplaced in tension.

WVhen it is desired to load the carrier with mail, the carrier is forceddownward until it rests upon the floor 4 of the base and the latchesengage the lugs on the sides 39 thereof, where it will remain until itis released. The fenders 24 are turned inwardly in the direction of thesides 39 of the carrier, and the mail matter is placed in one or morestacks on the floor of the'carrier in the order of the route to becovered, the last address on the route being at the bottom of the stackand the first address at the top. When all of the mail is in position onthe carrier, or its capacity has been reached, the latches may bereleased from the lugs 44 and the carrier 23 permitted to adjust itselfeasily to its uppermost position as determined by the quantity of mailthereon, the top pieces of matter on the stacks being held by thetension of the springs 33 under the rollers 15 and the stacks tightlycompressed between these rollers and the floor of the carrier. Thedistance between the standards transversely of the base being aboutequal to the widths of three ordinary letters, and the width of thecarrier 23 being substantially the same, it is possible to place threeseparate stacks of letters upon the carrier, and for this reason threeseparate rollers 15 are provided, or one for each stack, in order that aletter may be removed from any one of the stacks independently from andwithout in any way disturbing the mail in the other stacks.

The wide rear fender 17 extends upwardly to a point just below thebottom of the rollers 10 and serves to prevent the letters below the toppiece of matter from being removed from the stacks when the top piece isremoved, and the incline insures a free upward movement of the carrierwhen it is filled with 'mail inasmuch as the surface of the fenderdiverges from the stack of mail and prevents undue friction on thecarrier. When used with or with out the protecting hood or cover, thetop letter in either of the stacks on the carrier may be removed fordelivery by pulling the letter outwardly from the stack, over the upperedge of the fender 17 and from under the rollers 15, the movement of theletter causing the roller to revolve and rendering the letters easilyremovable from the carrier. It is obvious that the removal of a singleletter will not affect the letters in any of the other stacks as therollers are independent, and as the mail is removed, the carriergradually moves upward to accommodate itself to the constant diminishingof the stacks of mail, until the carrier is entirely empty when thetension of the springs 33 will have been minimized. When the hood isused, it is of course necessary to raise the top of the hood for theremoval of a letter from the case, but the address may be observedthrough the transparent screen in the top for the purpose of directingthe course of the carrier on the route without opening the hood.

I do not desire to limit myself to the exact form of device showninasmuch as I conceive it to be entirely within the scope of myinvention to materially change the form of the principal parts withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desireLetters Patent for, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a basewith standards extending upwardly therefrom and rigidly braced at thetops, revolubly mounted parallel drums within the base, a carriermovably disposed between the standards and supported on cables attachedto said drums, means for holding said cables in tension and imparting anormal upward tendency to said carrier, and fenders arranged on'saidstand- 'ards and capable of pivotal movement for providing clearance forthe matter on said carrier between said standards during the upwardmovement thereof.

2- In a device of the character described, the combination with themovable carrier for holding a quantity of mail matter and supaway fromthe carrier thereafter for proporting means therefor, of means forlockvldmg clearance for said matter 1n its uplng saldcarrier 1n thelowermost posit on Ward movement.

for loading the mail matter thereon, and REUBEN. C. HANSON. meansarranged at the sides of said carrier Witnesses for restricting the mailmatter tothe limits FRED; MOCULLA of the carrier When loading andmovable Jon-N S. CHAFFEE.

Qopiea, of thin patent, may be obtainedifo z fivecents eagh, byaddressing the "Gommissiflqner of Patents,

Wash ng I!- 0-,

